Trust Me
by GirlyGeek
Summary: After their escape from Kirkwall following Meredith's demise, Hawke is having difficulty trusting Anders in light of his blowing up the Chantry. It falls to Anders to change his beloved Hawke's mind and prove to her that he is still the man she fell in love with. One-Shot. Rated M for sex and mild BDSM


In my attempts to break through my case of writer's block with the current chapter of my novel, I recently did a playthrough of Dragon Age 2 in which I got my rogue, Artemis, out of mothballs (decided to shake things up a bit since I always play as my mage, Minerva). However, instead of prompting my muse to get back to work on my novel...it instead prompted her to come up with this one-shot. I think I'm the only writer in the world with a muse that suffers from ADD, lol. In any case, in my last DA2 fic, _Blurred Lines_, I sort of painted Anders as a bad guy, and I always planned to make it up to him later by writing an Anders-centric story, so here it is. Enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything pertaining to the Dragon Age franchise...unfortunately.

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**Trust Me**

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Anders started and turned towards the mouth of the cave in which he and Artemis had chosen as their shelter for the night in the face of what was looking to be a nasty storm once the rain began. His hand flew to his staff in anticipation of having to face off against mercenaries, bandits, or even Templars, but he relaxed immediately when he saw the familiar form of Artemis entering the cave. Slowly letting out the breath he had been holding, Anders allowed a small smile to play over his lips as he watched his beloved rogue approach. Dressed in her Champion leathers that hugged and emphasized her curves while the massive bow her father had created all those years ago loomed visibly up behind her from its place on her back, Artemis managed to be both the picture of femininity and lethality. It was an odd combination, but the rogue wore it well.

"Success?" Anders asked.

Artemis held up two dead rabbits as her answer as she approached.

"My mighty huntress," Anders said softly with a small smile that faltered around the edges. "I was growing worried. The storm looked as though it would start at any moment, and you still hadn't returned..."

Artemis gave Anders a small smile. "It would take more than a storm to stop me," she said as she knelt beside the fire. "And with me having to only hunt for the two of us, it takes me less time." There was a loud clap of thunder as she placed the rabbits in the cave floor and slipped her bow from her back. "Thank you for keeping the fire going. I have a feeling we'll need the warmth tonight," she said as rain began pouring almost violently from the sky.

Anders watched Artemis silently for a few moments as she began skinning the rabbits once she had seated herself comfortably. "Do you miss the others?" he asked softly at last.

Artemis sighed softly as she worked. "I do," she answered with a small nod. "But I believe they're alright. Isabella has Fenris to watch her back, Bethany took Merrill with her to see if she could be accepted into the Wardens, so I know the Templars can't touch either of them." She finished skinning one rabbit and skewered it before moving onto the other. "And Varric and Avaline can hardly be blamed for fighting against a woman who had been so driven mad as to turn on her own men. But yes...I miss them all." She sighed softly. "But splitting up like this was the only way to assure that they all remained safe. There was less of a chance for them to be hunted if we scattered..."

"Because of _me_," Anders said softly.

Artemis said nothing but skewered the other rabbit. Since their escape from Kirkwall, there had been a wall between her and Anders. While she still loved Anders fiercely, Artemis was also deeply conflicted over everything that her lover had done; and while she had taken great pains to remain silent on the matter in order to avoid the two of them turning on each other in their time of trial, the conflict manifested itself in other ways. She had not allowed Anders into her bedroll, and Artemis practically shrank away from even his smallest touch. For all the love she felt for her beloved apostate, Artemis was having difficulty coming to terms with the massive act of murder Anders had committed. It was as though Anders had split into two separate men...one who was gentle, loving, and selfless while the other was detached, cold and calculating. Since that night, Artemis had been struggling to put the two halves of Anders back together in her mind, but she had no luck in her endeavor. The blind trust she had once had in Anders was gone...

And yet, she could not bear to be apart from him.

For all her inner conflict, Artemis still loved Anders with every fiber of her being. She could not imagine her life without him, and all she wanted to do since they had left Kirkwall together was throw her arms tightly around her beloved and tell him that she would never leave his side. But how could she when Anders seemed so changed from the man she loved so fiercely?

To his credit, Anders had not said anything in regards to the nearly tangible wall that had arisen between Artemis and himself. He knew that his actions had shaken his beloved to her core. But after almost two weeks of not knowing just _where_ he stood with her, he could feel whatever hope he had left for their future together waning away. For nearly two weeks, Artemis shrank from him whenever he drew close to her or tried to touch her; yet, she always raced to his defense whenever they came under attack by darkspawn or bandits. Anders knew he would have to find some way to end this strained, awkward dance of theirs.

But how?

Feeling Anders' gaze upon her as she stirred the coals of the fire, Artemis turned her face towards him. "What is it?" she asked softly.

"I always knew you were remarkable, my love..." Anders answered softly as he chose his words carefully-searching for some way to prompt some sort of answer from the woman he loved. "But never until _that_ night did I realize just _how_ remarkable you really are."

Artemis turned her gaze back to the fire then placed the two rabbits upon the spit.

"You let me live..." Anders continued softly. "Not only _that_, but...you _stayed_ with me," he added in awe. "Even if you hadn't killed me...I didn't think you would let me stay with you...that you would stay by my side when others would have thrown me to the wolves."

Artemis stilled in her movements. "Do you really think so little of me as to think me capable of killing the man I love?" she asked softly.

Anders blinked in surprise, but his eyes betrayed the glimmer of help he felt at Artemis' admission of love. "Think little of you? _Never_. Why would you even suggest such a thing, my darling?"

"Because you _do_," Artemis answered in a sad, matter-of-fact tone. "Or else, you wouldn't have lied to me and put me in such a position. You're the love of my life, Anders...not _once_ have I lied to you. Not _once_." She bit her bottom lip. "I _never_ held anything back from you."

"I lied to you in order to _protect_ you," Anders said earnestly. "Keeping you in the dark was the _only_ way to ensure that _you_ would not be blamed for _my_ actions. I lied to you because I couldn't bear the thought of _you_ being at Meredith's mercy. I lied to you because I _love_ you, Artemis."

"Then you should have trusted me," Artemis said as she turned her gaze to Anders to reveal the tears trailing down her cheeks. "From the very beginning, I have done nothing _but_ trust you in _every _aspect of my life. You should have allowed me the same courtesy and trusted me to find another way to solve the problem. I _always_ find other ways to solve problems...you should have _trusted_ me."

It broke Anders' heart to see Artemis cry-especially since it happened so rarely. His beloved rogue was always so light of heart, and wry to the point of being flippant. It never seemed as though anything truly got her down. For the most part, Artemis was like a duck-letting her troubles roll off her like drops water. The last time, Anders had seen his beloved cry was the night of her mother's death, and that reality only spoke volumes as to just how much Artemis was hurting at the present moment. "My love...there _was_ no other way," Anders said softly...sadly.

Artemis gave a small shake of her head. "There is _always_ another way," she said in a soft but firm voice. "All those people you murdered...they didn't _have_ to die. You didn't _have_ to kill them, but you _did_. All those innocent people who never did _anything_ to you...and you murdered them." She bit her bottom lip. "What's to stop you from doing the same thing to me?" she asked in a whisper.

Anders' eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief. "What? How could you even _think_ to ask me that?" he asked incredulously.

Artemis' eyes were sad as she gazed at Anders. "Because, if you were able to kill all those innocent people who had never done a thing to you...what's to stop you from killing _me_ if I do or say something that you don't like?" She held up a hand to silence Anders when he opened his mouth to speak. "If you...the kindest, gentlest and most selfless man I have ever known could so easily kill that many innocent people, how do I know that you won't cross that line with _me_ one day?"

Anders reached across the space that separated Artemis and himself, and gripped his beloved's arm. "I am _still_ that man, my love," he said fervently. "I am _still_ the man you fell in love with."

"_Are_ you?" Artemis asked.

"You _have_ to know that I am," Anders entreated as he shifted closer to his lover so he was able to gently grip her other arm with his other hand. "Artemis...my darling, my beloved...I love you _so_ fiercely. What I did that night...was for _us_, and others _like_ us. It was for every mageling torn from their parents, and for every mage denied the warmth that comes from finding love in the arms of another." His eyes begged for Artemis to understand. "Think of your parents and what _they_ went through in order to be together...and is your father so very different from me? For Maker's sake, he resorted to Blood Magic to keep your mother, and by default, _you_, safe from the Wardens."

"Don't you _dare_ bring my parents into this," Artemis growled. "This isn't about _them_."

"It _is_," Anders said emphatically. "Because we _are_ them, sweetheart. _I_ am a mage like your father was, and _you_ are like your mother... you dared to fall in love with a mage, and it cost you _everything_ just as it did _her_. It wasn't fair to _them_ to be punished and ridiculed for something as simple and beautiful as loving each other, and it's not fair to _us_. _All_ we ever did was love each other, Artemis. _All_ we ever wanted was a life together...but the Circle and the Templars would _never_ let that happen. They will _never_ let us be. So long as we live, they will hunt us. Even if I hadn't blown up the Chantry, we would still be hunted because of what I am. Would you wish this life upon others like us?" he asked sadly.

Artemis was silent for several moments before slowly breathing a sigh and even more slowly shaking her head before calling her head to hang. "No," she answered in a whisper.

"I know it's hard to understand, my love," Anders began softly while gently drawing Artemis into his embrace. "And I know it is a harsh truth to accept…but what I did _had _to happen. It _had _to be done. Wars cannot be won without bloodshed, and this is a war that has been brewing for quite some time. It _must_ be fought."

"I remember how we lived in constant fear of discovery back in Lothering," Artemis mused softly after several moments of silence as she nestled slowly into Anders. "Father and Bethany were always so careful to avoid detection, and it always pained me that they constantly had to be so guarded when outside the walls of our home...that they couldn't be free to simply be themselves."

Anders sighed softly and nuzzled the hair of Artemis' crimson bob. "Your father was fortunate to have remained free after his escape...as is your sister, for she cannot be touched now that she is part of the Wardens," he murmured. "I escaped and was dragged back to the Ferelden Circle seven times before I was finally successful in my attempts." His jaw tensed. "The last time I was brought back to the Circle, I was thrown into solitary confinement for an entire year," he said with an underlying growl. "Imagine it, my love...being locked in a cell that was barely bigger than a broom closet and completely devoid of light. If you were lucky, the Templars remembered you were there, and fed you once a day...if you were unlucky, you were forgotten and you starved to death." His arms tightened a bit around Artemis. "And always, there were the whispers of demons...tempting you into making a deal with them in exchange for your freedom. Many mages in solitary confinement _would_ in fact turn to Blood Magic out of sheer desperation...and the Templars would promptly cut them down. I believed and still do believe that the Templars used solitary confinement as an excuse to kill mages. Whether it was by starvation or execution in the event of possession or Blood Magic, it didn't matter." There was an underlying growl to Anders' voice. "It was a way for the more cruel and zealous Templars to exterminate mages under the guise of disciplinary action."

"It sounds truly horrible," Artemis whispered as her hands lightly gripped Anders' short jacket. "But it only speaks to your inner strength that you survived that ordeal without resulting to Blood Magic," she murmured-unable to help the swell of pride she felt for her renegade mage.

Anders smiled and rested his head upon Artemis'. "I _had_ to be strong, my love. I knew that something wonderful was waiting for me." He brushed a loving kiss to Artemis' forehead before gently tilting her face up to his. "I was _right_," he murmured before tentatively pressing his lips against hers. His heart fluttered when Artemis kissed him back. "You and your love are _wonderful_ gifts from the Maker, my most precious beloved," he whispered fervently against Artemis' lips once the kiss had broken. He could feel the wall between them crumbling away, and he slowly slid his hands up to gently tangle into Artemis' hair. "The Maker truly smiled when he created you..." He kissed her again.

Artemis instinctively parted her lips for Anders when she felt his tongue brush tentatively against them in a silent bid for permission to enter, and she shivered with a soft moan as her tongue brushed against her beloved's. She could already feel her arousal growing-her body responding to every brush of Anders' tongue and every caress of his fingers. Clinging to him with one hand, she released his golden hair from its tie with the other and tangled her fingers into those soft tresses. She could feel the weeks' worth of tension roiling within her and looking for an escape, and her womb ached almost painfully for want of being reunited with Anders.

Anders shuddered and moaned softly in delight as Artemis' fingers brushed against his scalp-his heart racing with joy as he felt his beloved opening her heart to him once more. "My love..." he murmured once the kiss had broken. "My beautiful beloved..." He nuzzled along the graceful curve of Artemis' jaw. "My lifeline..." He reverently nuzzled and kissed Artemis' pulse and smiled when his lover gasped softly in delight. Raising his head so his eyes met his lover's, Anders gazed deeply into Artemis' luminous, green eyes. "My reason for living..." His kiss was hungry this time-channeling every ounce of love, adoration and need into it.

Within moments of the kiss' start, both Anders and Artemis were tearing at each other's clothing-their fingers desperate to remove the barriers that kept their bodies apart even as their lips seemed to fuse together. Not even as they shifted positions every so often to aid in the removal of a boot or trouser leg did their lips part for more than a heartbeat. When they had finally stripped each other of their final stitch of clothing, they lay in a tangle of arms and legs on the floor of the cave. Artemis' whimpers created a unique harmony with Anders' moans as their mouths and fingers knowingly sought out the secret, sensitive places on each other's bodies that only _they_ knew about.

Though it had only been a little over a week since they had last made love-thinking he would not survive blowing up the Chantry, Anders had initiated a long and extremely passionate lovemaking session the morning of the incident upon awakening form his slumber-it felt like ages to the renegade mage, and every time his aching, throbbing length brushed against Artemis' silken skin, pleasured groans escaped Anders' lips. "Artemis..." he whispered earnestly as he gently pushed his lover onto her back and got on top of her. "My beloved...I _need_ you," he whispered-desperate to reestablish the bond and connection between Artemis and himself.

Artemis' body quivered in desperate want, and wetness pooled between her legs as she gazed up at Anders through half-lidded eyes—her legs beginning to spread eagerly for the renegade mage. Her words of consent were on the tip of her tongue, but before she could utter them, the memory of the Chantry exploding flashed through her mind, and her expression changed from one of loving lust to wide-eyed fear.

Anders felt his heart slow. "Artemis? My love?"

Artemis' bottom lip trembled. "I...I can't," she whispered.

Anders slowly let out a breath. "Why not?" he asked in a choked voice as he sat back on his heels-his erect manhood softening. "Do you not love me anymore? Artemis, I cannot take this anymore…the not knowing where I stand with you. If you no longer love me or wish to be with me, then please, Artemis...please just tell me now." His eyes were sad.

Artemis' eyes widened, and she sat up. "No! Anders, I _do_ love you. _Never_ doubt that."

"Then what is it?" Anders asked softly. "Why do you shy away from me _now_?"

"It's just..." Artemis bit her bottom lip

"It's just _what_?" Anders prompted gently.

"Whenever I look at you since leaving Kirkwall...I see _two_ men," Artemis said softly. "I see the gentle, loving man that I adore and would readily lay down my life for...but then I also see a man who would readily murder innocent people." She closed her eyes in attempts to stop the tears from rolling down her face, but one escaped in any case. "And for all my efforts, I can't put the two halves of you back together in my mind."

Anders leaned forward and lightly brushed the backs of his knuckles over Artemis' cheek. "They are both me, my love." He gently wiped away the tear on his lover's cheek. "They are both halves of the same whole...and both halves would readily sacrifice _everything_ for you. _Neither_ half would ever harm you, my love."

"I know," Artemis whispered. "My heart knows that. My heart knows _all_ of that to be true...as does my body. But my head is another matter entirely," she added while hanging her head-another tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. "My mind can't come to terms with the man I love more than my own life being capable of such an atrocity, and whenever I look at you…the image I once had of you is shattered."

Anders was silent in thought for several moments before an idea came to him reaching into a nearby satchel, he drew out a scrap of cloth before reaching forward and placing the cloth over Artemis' eyes.

Artemis drew back and opened her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Asking you to trust me," Anders answered softly with earnest eyes. "I have an idea to help you end the internal war between your head and your heart...but you _have_ to trust me, my love. _Please..._trust me."

Artemis was silent for a moment. "And if at any point, I ask you to stop?" she asked softly.

"I _will_ stop. You have my word," Anders promised fervently. "Not once have I _ever_ harmed you, Artemis. I'm not about to start now."

After a few moments, Artemis gave a small nod then closed her eyes so Anders could blindfold her.

Anders let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding, and smiled softly as he gently fastened the cloth over Artemis' eyes. "Thank you..." he whispered before kissing his beloved tenderly and slowly easing her down onto her back once more. "Thank you, my love." He kissed her again, deeply this time, as his fingers brushed lightly over her collar bone before trailing down and brushing over his lover's nipples. He smiled into the kiss as Artemis' nipples hardened into small peaks under his attentions, and his softened length began growing hard and erect once more. He broke the kiss so he could nuzzle Artemis' ear, and he gave it a small nibble. "Remember all the times we made love, my beloved rogue," he murmured as his fingers continued downward. "Remember all those nights I made you weep with pleasure before cradling your trembling body in my arms as you drifted off to sleep."

A shiver coursed through Artemis' body and she whimpered wantonly as Anders' fingers brushed over her vulnerable core. "I remember... " she whispered as her hips rose into Anders' touch of their own volition.

Anders' eyes fluttered closed as two of his fingers dipped gently into Artemis' molten core, and a low groan of longing escaped him as his fingers became coated in her juices. "Maker..." he whispered as he salivated involuntarily at the memory of how Artemis tasted. "Remember how I would lavish attention upon you with my fingers...and my tongue until you begged for me to take you," he whispered before slowly tracing his tongue over the shell of Artemis' ear as his two fingers began to slide in an out of her with slow, deliberate strokes—his thumb rubbing against her sensitive nub. "And with you being tied to the bedposts, you were powerless to do anything else but be my captive until I decided you had been teased enough. He bit his bottom lip as Artemis moaned and spread her trembling legs for him. "Maker, how I loved delving my tongue deeply into you...lapping at your sweet nectar until you wept in ecstasy. Even now, I long to taste you..." he murmured with an underlying growl as he drew his fingers out of his lover and brought them to his mouth where he slowly licked them clean with a groan as his eyes all but rolled into the back of his head.

"Anders... " Artemis whimpered desperately-feeling bereft the moment her lover drew out of her. Having had a total of two lovers before Anders, Artemis was honestly able to say that Anders was the only man to reduce her to a cluster of raw nerves like this. Having always been the dominant one in her previous relationships, it still never ceased to amaze her how natural it had felt for her to assume the submissive role with Anders when they first embarked upon their intimate relationship-willingly leaving herself entirely to his whims and mercy both in the bedroom as well as out.

Why else would she have so willingly played into his scheme with the Chantry when her every instinct screamed at her not to? That had been the first time Anders had abused the power he had in their relationship. But at that moment, with Anders reminding not only Artemis' head but her body as well of just how much they loved, needed, and completed each other, Artemis found herself more than willing to forgive him.

"Anders..._please_...!" This _was_ however the first time Anders had blindfolded her, and Artemis found that it heightened her pleasure.

"Does my lovely rogue want something?" Anders purred into Artemis' ear.

"_You_," Artemis whimpered plaintively as she turned her blindfolded gaze towards her lover. "I want _you_. I _need_ you...!"

Anders slowly shifted so he was positioned on top of Artemis, and lightly brushed the head of his aching length against Artemis' molten core. He kept his hips raised just enough to keep himself from pushing into Artemis-smiling as his lover raised her hips in attempts to bring him into her. Instead of appeasing her, he slid his hands up to grab Artemis' wrists and firmly pin them above her head. While they were in possession of rope, Anders had nothing to which he could secure Artemis' wrists and ankles, so he would have to improvise. "Say it again," he said firmly.

"I _need_ you, Anders," Artemis whimpered desperately. "I need you...!"

Anders claimed Artemis' lips in a deep, hungry kiss as he pushed into her to the hilt-his delighted groan mingling with his beloved's stifled cry of pleasure. He sighed contentedly into the kiss as Artemis wrapped her long legs around his waist, and simply reveled in the pleasure that only came from being encased within his lover at last. As aroused as they both were, he knew they would not last long, and he wanted to savor every moment of pleasure while he could. Slowly breaking the kiss, he lightly rubbed his nose against Artemis' before leaning down to nuzzle her ear as he thrust into her with long, deliberate strokes. "My love, remember me..._know_ me as the man who remains _ever_ faithful to you. _Trust_ in me and know that I would _never_ harm you," he murmured fervently into Artemis' ear before gently nibbling her earlobe. "Trust me." He kissed his beloved heatedly and his hands tightened their grip upon Artemis' wrists.

Artemis' legs tightened around Anders in an attempt to keep him deeply inside of her, and she moaned into the kiss while arching her back in building euphoria. "I love you," she whimpered earnestly once her lips were free. "I love you, Anders."

"Do you trust me?" Anders asked while hardening his thrusts just a little.

"Yes!" Artemis cried emphatically before her breath hitched in her throat.

"Say it," Anders growled softly into Artemis' ear. "_Say_ it…!"

"I trust you," Artemis declared earnestly. "I trust you, Anders."

Shifting his hands so he now gripped Artemis' wrists in one hand, Anders removed the blindfold from his beloved's eyes with the other and locked gazes with her. He knew all too well that his lover was close to that euphoric edge, and he wanted them to fall over that edge together. "Look at me," he ordered huskily as he quickened his thrusts and moved his free hand down to slide under Artemis' bottom and knowingly tilt her hips so his thrusts mercilessly hit his lover's inner-most pleasure point. "Look into my eyes and tell me that you trust me."

Artemis resisted the urge to close her eyes in pleasure as Anders drove her ever closer to the edge. "I love you, Anders," she cried in a high-pitched whimper-her nails digging into her palms in attempts to keep herself from falling into the euphoric abyss that awaited her. "I love you and I trust you with my life!" Anders released her wrists at that moment, and Artemis wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him.

Their joint cries of release echoed loudly through the cave, and Anders thrust wildly into Artemis until he had emptied the last of his seed into her eagerly waiting womb as she clung to him—her nails digging into his back. Once his beloved had milked him dry, Anders pillowed his head upon Artemis' breasts and allowed her to hold him as they both came down from their euphoric high. Though he panted, the renegade mage smiled blissfully as he basked in the afterglow and reveled in the fact that Artemis had come back to him.

"We should make our way to Tervinter," Anders said softly once he was able. Tightening his arms around Artemis, he gently shifted and turned them so they were lying on their sides. Still inside of her, he rested his forehead against hers. "It's the only place where we can be free to be together and live out the rest of our lives. The Templars and the Chantry can't hunt us there."

Artemis was silent for a few moments before nodding. "It _is_ the only option available to us. Hopefully we can buy passage on a ship without the Chantry being none the wiser, but Anders...Fenris said that Blood Magic is rampant in Tervinter...that it was the _only_ way for Magisters to get ahead."

"That won't happen to me, my love," Anders assured before softly kissing Artemis' soft, full lips. "I don't _want_ to get ahead. All I want is _you_. All I want is a quiet life with you...as normal a life as I can manage to give you."

Artemis smiled. "I suppose Justice _would_ complicate things a bit, but at least we can be married and live openly as husband and wife."

Anders smile was sad around the edges. "I don't know if I can give you a family, my darling. The Taint within me...it makes conceiving a child difficult at best. I...I simply don't want you to get your hopes up."

Artemis moved her hands to lovingly cup Anders' face. "If it happens, then it will be a blessing, and I can't think of a better man I would want as the father to my children...especially if they are born mages. But, my love, even if we don't manage to have children, I will _still_ love you, and I _will_ remain by your side until death parts us."

Anders' smile grew a fraction of an inch. "Do you really think I would make a good father?" he asked softly.

Artemis nodded and her smile remained in place. "I _do_, because I know that you would protect our child with a great ferocity. I know that if anything were to happen to me, that any children born to us be safe...and if they were born mages, I know that _you_ would guide them and teach them just as my father guided and taught Bethany."

Anders smile grew a little again, and he turned his face to the left and then the right just enough to allow him to kiss Artemis' palms. "I _would_." His expression became worried around the eyes. "You're not worried about Justice though? You're not worried that I would one day lose control and hurt our children the way I almost hurt Ella in the Mage Underground?"

Artemis' smile grew and she shook her head. "No," she answered in a soft but firm voice. "I know that you wouldn't harm _me_, and I _know_ that you would _never_ harm our children."

Anders' eyes warmed with his smile that was filled with love. "You have _no_ idea how much that level of trust means to me." He rested his forehead against Artemis' forehead. "I hope more than _anything_ that we are blessed with a child so I can prove to you every single day that your trust in me is not misplaced," he murmured before capturing Artemis' lips in a long, tender kiss. "I love you, sweetheart," he whispered as his arms tightened around his beloved so he could pull her on top of him as he shifted onto his back.

Artemis shivered in delight as she felt Anders grow hard inside of her, and she smiled while rubbing her nose lightly against his. "I love _you_, Anders," she whispered before sitting up and beginning to ride him. The rabbits were still cooking, so they would have time for more lovemaking. As the tempest raged on outside the cave, Artemis could not think of a better way to spend the night than reaffirming her bond with Anders, and her smile grew as her lover's hand moved to grip her hips and hold them down firmly against his upward thrusts. "I love you, and I will _never _distrust you again for as long as I live."

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**A/N:** If you're a fan of Dragon Age as well as of my writing, _please_ check out my newly-published novel, _Dragon Guardian: Fire_, the first novel in my Dragon Guardian series. The link for the website can be found on my profile page!


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